“I’ll have eaten.”
“Okay, so…maybe we can watch a film or just talk?”
“We can do that,” Rosa agreed, picking up the kettle as it boiled.
“Why do I get the feeling there’s something else you’d prefer to do?” Billy’s actions mirrored Rosa’s with the kettle.
Rosa grinned coyly. “I don’t know what you could mean. But if you were suggesting that I might be interested in something more…intimate, then I would probably not be in a position to argue.”
“Oh, and whatpositionwould you prefer to be in?”
“I’m pretty sure you can remember those details… I suspect nothing much has changed.” She finished making her tea and picked up the mug. “Now, quiet while I get upstairs and into my room. I do not want listening ears to hear you talking about folding her mother over and doing despicable things to her.”
Billy laughed and drew her finger across her lips to zip them.
Chapter forty
Billy grabbed her own mug and carried it to her room. She watched the screen as Rosa’s face disappeared, then everything went dark.
She settled her phone on the nightstand, upright against the mug, not paying much attention to it as she untied her dressing gown and let it slide off her shoulders. She caught it before it hit the ground and hung it on the back of the door, and when she turned, she found Rosa back, her face staring at her.
“All set?” Billy asked.
“No, I need to get undressed and into my pyjamas.”
Billy grinned and grabbed the phone as she flopped onto the bed. Her image blurred with the movement until her face came back into focus. “Okay, go ahead. I’ll just sit quietly and watch.”
Rosa pursed her lips playfully. “You want to watch me strip?”
“I mean…it’s not like you haven’t done it before.”
“That was a long time ago.”
“Not in my head.” Billy chuckled. “Still as vivid now as it was then.”
“Well, you won’t need a repeat then, will you?”
“Spoilsport.” Billy grinned, her face pressed up close to the screen. She scanned the room—surroundings she hadn’t seen in a long time. Rosa had a different taste in décor now, more chic than the neon prints and bright colours they’d once shared.
Rosa placed the phone on the bed, leaning it up against the pillows.
“Not even a little peek?” Billy continued to tease.
With her fingertips gripping the hem of her jumper, Rosa inched it up just enough to show the merest hint of skin before she laughed, dropped it, and reached forward to knock the phone over, giving Billy a close-up view of her bed.
Within a minute, the phone was lifted into the air and Rosa came back into view.
“Considering your plan is for me to fold you over on Monday, I think this prudish behaviour is far from befitting.” Billy smiled, enjoying the flirting. “You look pretty.”
“I look a tired mess, but thank you.” Rosa returned the smile.
“Tired is understandable, but I’m not sure you could ever look a mess.”
“I’ve already agreed to have sex with you.” Rosa chuckled.
Billy smiled again, enjoying the ‘negotiations’. “Yes, but you haven’t agreed to spend your life with me again yet.” She settled back against her pillows and watched as Rosa did the same. “I’m super serious about us, Rosa. I know where you stand, and I’m all for taking the time. But I’m there already, and I’m going to keep trying to make sure you hear that from everything I say and do.”
“I know, and I’m on board for finding out—” She stopped speaking when the landing light clicked on and soft footsteps hit the squeaky floorboard. “Imogen is up,” she whispered.
